5 tips how to maximize your holiday sales

06/12/2018

The first Christmas trees have been spotted and you can hear those first sleigh bells already ringing: Yes, it’s really beginning to look a lot like Christmas. As a recent holiday retail survey stated*, 57 percent of total spend this holiday season is expected to be online compared with 36 percent in stores, which means a drop of 10 percent for stores in the last four years. Are you prepared for the most profitable time of year? We gladly explain how to be the king or queen of the holiday season!

1. Preparation is half the battle

First things first: we certainly realize you were so caught up in the everyday hustle and bustle of running your online business that each year you swear not to wait that long with the preparations. But, if you want to make the best out of the holiday season to come, it’s key to be prepared. It’s not for nothing they say the preparation is half the battle. Since in fashion collections are already prepared a year in advance, that’s the moment you should start planning and forecasting what products you will focus on during the coming holidays. Choosing accessories that can be merchandized as ‘Festive Gifts’ is a great way to drive sales alongside the creation of festive collection highlights and even better to plan for a festive capsule collection.

2. Early Christmas shoppers are bigger spenders

When exactly is the right time to start preparing? Almost 40 percent of people plan to start Christmas shopping before November and almost one-fifth already before early September!. Those early shoppers are likely to spend about 330 euros more than those who start later. Therefore, setting up your holiday campaign with festive blog posts, gift guides, newsletters, posts on social media, influencer marketing and/or advertising, promoting limited duration and exclusive deals early in the Christmas shopping season can be a way to convince those early shoppers to buy from your brand, but also to spend more.

Almost 40 percent of people plan to start Christmas shopping before November.

3. Peak from late November until mid-December

However, if you haven’t started on those holiday preparations yet, you can still catch up: shoppers will do 48 percent of their shopping in the 30-day-period from late November until mid-December, with a peak in late November. Invest time and effort in persuading those shoppers you are selling the nicest Christmas gifts, outfits and make-up. And guess what? Almost all of them (93 percent) will be using the internet to do their research and/or shop online. As mentioned above, do not limit yourself to your website alone. Here are some great examples on how luxury brands are targeting their customers for the holidays:

A post shared by BVLGARI (@bulgariofficial) on Nov 12, 2018 at 8:49am PST

4. Provide the VIP treatment

For most shoppers, the holiday season equals stress of finding the right presents and outfit, getting them on time, organizing parties and so on. Reduce the clients’ stress by setting up a kick-ass campaign in which you show them you are the one-stop-shop for all their holiday gifts. Not feeling as creative today? No worries, let the following campaigns inspire you!

From Burberry with love

Champion in being able to translate the Christmas emotion into effective ads is definitely Burberry. Their Burberry Kisses powered by Google campaign let you send a virtual kiss to anyone in the world. What’s more, you could track kisses that were sent at that moment. All this was branded in the specific Burberry branding of course, and with the ability to share it on your social media. Innovative? Check! Shareable? Check! Creative? Double check!

Kate Spade lets people watch its ads as TV shows

Ads that look like you’re watching a TV show? It sounds like a magic formula, especially when the wonderful Anna Kendrick stars in them. And mission accomplished, because who doesn’t want to have those golden pumps rescuing them from being locked out of their own house?

Versace opened the doors of its Gift Factory

Have a behind-the-scenes look at Versace’s so-called Gift Factory.

5. Track and evaluate for this and next Christmas

Once you’ve got your shop ready for the holidays, it’s key to track progress and optimize your campaigns along the way. Monitor KPIs in Google Analytics to check which campaigns are over- or underperforming. This data not only helps you during this holiday season, it’s also your base for next year’s holiday season.